Ontario Government Offers A Boost To Electric Cars

By Doug Draper

The Ontario government is taking steps to usher in a new age of electric cars on the province’s roads.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty recharges an electric car at a charging station in Markham this August 9.

Premier Dalton McGuinty announced this August 9 that his Liberal government will be spend $80 million to jump start the opening of “charging stations” across Ontario for electric cars.

The seed money, said McGuinty when he made the announcement at a charging station in Markham, Ontario, is aimed at encouraging public and private sector bodies to come forward with proposes for making available charging stations that would do for electric cars what gas stations do for cars with internal combustion engines.
“We’re taking the next step to ensure car-charging stations are in the right place to power the next generation of vehicles,” said McGuinty. “Just as we worked hard to become North America’s number one producer of cars, we’re working hard to become number one in North America when it comes to clean energy. Today’s announcement takes us one step closer to our vision.”

Earlier this month, McGuinty visited a Toyota plant in Woodstock, Ontario that has been chosen by that company to produce its RAVA EV, an electric vehicle Toyota wants to drive into a future less dependent on fossil fuels.

McGunity said it is the province’s vision to see at least one out of every car on Ontario roads powered by electricity rather than gasoline by the end of this decade.

Ontario is now one of several regions around the world, including Quebec, Vancouver, New York City, China, Denmark, Germany and France investing in charging stations for electric cars.

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